CN217285440U - Liquid heating appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid heating appliance (1) comprising: a container (2) defining a liquid heating compartment (18), a lid (4) arranged above the container (2) to cover the liquid heating compartment (18), and a heater (3) operable to heat liquid within the liquid heating compartment (18); wherein the lid (4) comprises a funnel (14) for directing liquid downwardly towards the funnel floor (12), and wherein the funnel floor (12) comprises a check valve (16), the check valve (16) being arranged to allow liquid to flow from the funnel (14) into the liquid heating compartment (18) and to substantially prevent vapour from the liquid heating compartment (18) from entering the funnel (14).

Description

liquid heating appliances

technical field

This application relates to liquid heating appliances.

Background technique

Liquid heating appliances, such as kettles, are common in many homes. A conventional kettle includes a liquid heating compartment for receiving the liquid and a heater for increasing the temperature of the liquid.

Kettles are often used to heat liquids to boiling point, which causes the liquid to evaporate into steam. Whether for operational reasons (eg, to activate a steam sensor to shut down the appliance) or for safety reasons, it may be desirable to prevent such steam from leaving the appliance. Therefore, conventional kettles are provided with a lid and a spout filter to prevent steam from escaping from the liquid heating compartment.

While some kettle designs do accommodate filling through the spout, this is not always practical (as the spout may be too small) or desirable (as a large spout may adversely affect the appearance of the kettle) . Therefore, for kettles where spout filling is not feasible, this means that a user wishing to fill the kettle with liquid to be heated must first open or remove the lid and then close or replace the lid again when the kettle is full. Consequently, the time it takes to fill the appliance increases and the user's ease of performing this task decreases.

Applicants have realised a need for a liquid heating appliance, such as a kettle, that can be quickly and directly filled by the user.

Utility model content

The present application aims to provide an improved appliance, and from a first aspect, the present application provides a liquid heating appliance, comprising:

a vessel defining a liquid heating compartment, a lid disposed over the vessel to cover the liquid heating compartment, and a heater operable to heat the liquid within the liquid heating compartment;

wherein the lid defines a receiving chamber for receiving a volume of liquid, and the receiving chamber includes a fill valve,

wherein the filling valve is arranged to, in a filling mode of the liquid heating appliance, operate to allow liquid to flow from the receiving chamber into the liquid heating compartment and, in a heating mode of the appliance, operate to substantially prevent the inflow of fluid from the liquid heating compartment receiving chamber.

Thus, a user of the appliance of the present application can fill the appliance with liquid to be heated by filling the receiving chamber, and the filling valve is arranged to allow liquid to flow from the receiving chamber into the liquid heating compartment during the filling mode. The receiving chamber in the lid may make filling easier than trying to fill through the spout, and liquid can flow directly into the liquid heating compartment without user intervention (eg, operating the hinged lid). The fill valve is arranged to substantially prevent the passage of fluid (eg steam) in the opposite direction (at least) during the heating mode. This means that during heating mode, the steam generated in the liquid heating compartment cannot easily escape via the receiving chamber in the lid (ie steam escape is prevented or hindered). In the heating mode of the appliance, the valve may be arranged to substantially prevent both liquid and vapour from flowing through the filling valve from the liquid heating compartment to the receiving chamber. Therefore, even if the appliance is tilted during heating mode, the hot liquid cannot escape via the receiving chamber in the lid. Thus, like a conventional kettle, the lid acts as a closing lid for the liquid heating compartment, at least during heating mode.

It should be understood that the filling mode and the heating mode may not be independent of each other. The fill valve operates to allow liquid to flow into the liquid heating compartment at least during the fill mode. In some embodiments, the fill valve may also allow liquid to flow into the liquid heating compartment during heating mode. The fill valve operates to substantially prevent fluid flow from the liquid heating compartment into the receiving chamber at least during the heating mode. In some embodiments, the fill valve may also operate in the same manner during fill mode. It may be preferred that, in the filling mode of the appliance, the filling valve is arranged to substantially prevent the flow of steam from the liquid heating compartment into the receiving chamber. This provides a safety benefit as the user pouring the liquid into the receiving chamber is not exposed to the risk of scalding. For example, the fill valve may include a check valve. The check valve may include a slit valve or a flip valve, as will be described further below.

In some embodiments, the fill valve is selectively operated such that the fill mode and the heating mode are independent of each other. For example, the fill valve operates to selectively open in the filling mode and selectively close in the heating mode. This means that the valve is responsive to the current operating mode of the appliance, although selectively opening in fill mode may allow some steam (eg from previously heated liquid in the compartment) to come into contact with the user when filling the receiving chamber.

In some embodiments, the fill valve includes a valve bore and a valve closing member. A valve hole may be provided in the bottom plate of the receiving chamber. The valve hole may be selectively closed by blocking the movement of the valve hole by the closing member. In some examples, movement of the closure member may be automatically actuated at/before the start of the heating mode. In some other examples, movement of the closure member may be manually actuated at/before the start of the heating mode. In such an example, a single manual operation can initiate the heating mode and actuate movement of the closure member. For example, the closure member may be provided on a plunger that is manually moveable when (or before) the heating mode begins. The appliance may include a plunger, eg for lowering the infusion device into the liquid heating compartment, or for moving a ferromagnetic heating plate within the liquid heating compartment. This may be a vertical plunger that passes through a valve hole in the cap, described in more detail below.

In some embodiments, the appliance may include a check valve and a fill valve including an aperture and a closure member (eg, selectively closed by operating a plunger). This may improve the safety of the appliance by reducing the risk of the user's hands being scalded by the steam when the movement of the closure member is manually actuated.

In various embodiments, the fill valve is or includes a check valve. Preferably, the check valve is arranged to allow liquid to flow from the receiving chamber into the liquid heating compartment when a threshold pressure differential across the valve is reached. Preferably, the pressure differential is provided by the weight of the liquid in the receiving chamber. The check valve is preferably biased closed, and the valve closes when the pressure differential across the valve is less than a threshold value.

The check valve may comprise any suitable type of one-way check valve. Preferably, the check valve comprises a slit valve. The valve may comprise a resilient material with one or more slits. The elastic material may comprise two slits intersecting at right angles to each other. Preferably, the one or more slits are arranged to open (ie widen) when the weight of the volume of liquid in the receiving chamber is sufficient to exceed a threshold pressure differential across the valve. The slit valve (eg, its elastic material) may be made of an elastomeric material such as silicone, fluorosilicone, neoprene, EPDM, nitrile rubber, or other synthetic rubbers. For example, the slit valve can be made of food grade silicone.

In some embodiments, the slit valve includes a slot. Preferably, the elastic material of the slit valve defines the slot. The one or more slits of the check valve are preferably defined in the bottom of the groove. The provision of the slot allows the liquid in the receiving chamber to pool around the slit valve, thereby facilitating the flow of the liquid through the slit valve. This also allows the threshold differential pressure to be reached more quickly because the weight of the liquid will be concentrated over the slit valve.

The grooves may comprise U-shaped (or semi-circular) cross-sections, V-shaped cross-sections, or Y-shaped cross-sections. These shapes help to provide the check function of the valve because a larger negative pressure differential (ie, the pressure differential that promotes flow in the opposite direction of the check valve) is required to force the widening of one or more slits.

In some embodiments, the tank is sized to hold between 1 ml and 20 ml of liquid, eg, 5 ml to 15 ml, eg, about 10 ml.

The container can be made of any suitable or desired material. For example, the container may consist essentially of glass, plastic or metal material. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the container is glass. In some embodiments, a portion of the container is plastic. The container may include a glass lower portion and a plastic upper portion. The container can be transparent or translucent. In some embodiments, the appliance includes a decorative layer extending around a portion of the container. The decorative layer may extend around an upper portion of the container, eg a plastic upper portion. The decorative layer may comprise a stainless steel wrap, or any other suitable or desired material.

In some embodiments, the appliance may include a handle for lifting the appliance. The handle may extend from a portion of the container, such as the upper portion. For example, the appliance may include a glass lower portion and a plastic upper portion from which a plastic handle extends. Plastic handles can be L-shaped or C-shaped.

Preferably, the container defines a top opening configured to receive the lid. Preferably, the cover is removable. The top opening (eg, and thus the lid) may be circular. The cover can be made of any suitable or feasible material. Preferably, the cover is plastic. Thus, the receiving chamber can be made of plastic, even if the container (eg its lower part) can be made of glass. These plastic parts help reduce the weight of the appliance.

In some embodiments, the container includes a spout. The spout is preferably in fluid communication with the liquid heating compartment. This allows liquid to be dispensed from the liquid heating compartment, eg after the liquid has been heated. The liquid heating appliance optionally takes the form of a jug, eg, a container that includes a spout on one side and a handle on the other.

Preferably, the receiving chamber extends from the upper surface of the lid into the appliance. Thus, the receiving chamber is preferably a recessed feature of the lid. Preferably, the receiving chamber is uncovered. This allows the user to fill the receiving chamber directly with liquid (eg from a faucet) without removing or removing any parts of the appliance. Preferably, the receiving chamber extends downwardly from an aperture defined by the upper surface of the cover. The receiving chamber is preferably at least 20mm deep, such as at least 30mm deep, such as at least 40mm deep, such as at least 50mm deep, such as at least 60mm deep, such as at least 70mm deep, such as at least 80mm deep, such as at least 90mm deep, such as at least 100mm deep. The depth of the receiving chamber may be at least 20% or 30% of the height of the appliance. The depth of the receiving chamber may be approximately 40% of the height of the appliance. The deep receiving chamber helps to avoid liquid spilling out of the receiving chamber when the receiving chamber is being filled.

The lid may include a funnel-shaped portion (eg, an upper portion) that defines a receiving chamber. The funnel-shaped portion, ie the funnel, may be shaped to direct the liquid towards the filling valve. The lid may include a bottom plate that defines the bottom of the receiving chamber. In some embodiments, the lid includes a funnel for directing liquid down the funnel floor, wherein the funnel floor includes a fill valve. Preferably, the filling valve is arranged in the bottom of the lid (eg in the bottom of the funnel). The filling valve can be arranged in the center of the floor (eg, the funnel floor). Preferably, however, the filling valve is arranged off-centre in the floor (eg the funnel floor). This allows other lid features, such as plungers or knobs, to be positioned in the center of the appliance. Preferably, at least a portion (eg all) of the floor (eg the funnel floor) is sloped so that the liquid is directed towards the filling valve.

The liquid heating compartment is preferably arranged below the receiving chamber. The volume of the liquid heating compartment may be greater than the volume of the receiving chamber.

In some embodiments, the heater includes a resistive heating element. Resistive heating elements can be integrated into the bottom of the vessel. Preferably, the appliance comprises a thermally sensitive actuator arranged to switch off the heater when the thermally sensitive actuator is triggered. The thermal actuator may be an overheat sensor (eg installed to detect when the temperature of the heater exceeds a predetermined temperature) or a boil sensor (eg installed to detect the temperature of the liquid in the liquid heating compartment or to detect a steam). In some other embodiments, the heater includes a ferromagnetic heating plate for induction heating when the appliance is placed on an energized induction hob.

In some embodiments, the appliance may include a plunger arranged to extend into the liquid heating compartment. In some embodiments, the plunger may operate independently of the fill valve. The plunger can extend through the lid into the liquid heating compartment. The cover may define an aperture through which the plunger is arranged to extend. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the bore is the valve bore of the fill valve and the plunger carries the closing member for the fill valve. The plunger may extend through the receiving chamber into the liquid heating compartment. In some embodiments, the plunger is arranged to extend vertically and centrally in the appliance. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the plunger is arranged to extend through a hole in the center of the funnel floor into the liquid heating compartment, and the fill valve is arranged off-center of the funnel floor. This allows the liquid heating compartment to be easily filled despite the presence of the plunger.

Preferably, the plunger is vertically movable relative to the container. The plunger is movable between a lowered position and a raised position. Such plungers can be used in a variety of ways when preparing beverages from heated liquids.

In some embodiments, an infusion device, such as a perforated container for infusion of beverage material (eg, tea leaves, coffee powder, or other soluble beverage material) may be mounted to the plunger at its lower end. In some embodiments, a stirring rod or agitator may be mounted to the plunger at the lower end of the plunger, eg, to make a frothy milk beverage.

In some embodiments, the ferromagnetic heating plate may be mounted (eg, welded) to the plunger at the lower end of the plunger such that the plunger extends perpendicularly from the surface of the ferromagnetic heating plate. In the lowered position, the ferromagnetic heating plate is preferably adjacent the bottom of the container. In the raised position, the ferromagnetic heating plate is preferably moved away from the bottom of the container. Preferably, in use, when the appliance is placed on an energized induction hob, the lowered position is such that the ferromagnetic heating plate is close enough to the induction hob to be inductively heated by the induction hob, and the raised position is sufficiently far from the induction hob Far makes the ferromagnetic heating plate not heated by the induction hob.

The user can manually move the plunger up and down to change the position of the ferromagnetic heating plate or infusion device. Optionally, the appliance may include a lift mechanism for automatically moving the plunger (and thus eg a ferromagnetic hot plate or infusion device) from a lowered position to a raised position, eg in response to a timer or temperature sensor.

In some embodiments, the appliance further comprises a thermally sensitive actuator and a lift mechanism arranged to automatically move the ferromagnetic heating plate from a lowered position to a raised position when triggered by the thermally sensitive actuator. The thermal actuator may be an overheat sensor (eg installed to detect when the temperature of a ferromagnetic heating plate exceeds a predetermined temperature) or a boil sensor (eg installed to detect the temperature of the liquid in the liquid heating compartment or to detect in the liquid heating compartment steam produced). This means that the induction heating of the ferromagnetic heating plate will automatically stop in response to detected overheating and/or boiling. Furthermore, in those embodiments where the plunger carries the closing member of the filling valve, the filling valve is selectively opened when the heating mode is stopped.

Preferably, the filling/heating mode of the appliance is determined by the position of the plunger. Preferably, the plunger is arranged in a lowered position during the heating mode of the appliance. Preferably, the plunger is arranged in a raised position during the filling mode of the appliance.

As mentioned above, the plunger may include the closing member of the filling valve. The valve closing member may be arranged to selectively close the filling valve in the receiving chamber when the plunger is in the lowered position and to selectively open the filling valve in the receiving chamber when the plunger is in the raised position. The closure member may include a seal for substantially sealing the valve bore. The closure member may comprise an O-ring or gasket arranged around the plunger. The closure member may comprise shutter means mounted on the plunger.

Preferably, the closure member comprises an elastic material. This allows the closure member to provide an effective seal between the liquid heating compartment and the receiving chamber. Preferably, the elastic material is heat resistant to at least 60°C, eg to at least 80°C, eg to at least 100°C.

Preferably, the closure member is configured to seal the valve orifice of the filling valve at least at a steam pressure of 1.2 bar, 1.4 bar, 1.6 bar, 1.8 bar or 2.0 bar in the liquid heating compartment.

In some embodiments, as described above, the fill valve includes an aperture and a valve closing member carried by the same plunger as the ferromagnetic heating plate, causing the fill valve to be selectively operated according to an induction heating mode. In some embodiments, the valve closing member may be mechanically connected to an electrical switch for operating electrical components of the appliance, such as an electric heater. Therefore, these components can be operated according to the mode of the appliance. For example, the electric heater may be configured to turn on when the filling valve is selectively closed by the valve closing member (ie in the heating mode of the appliance) and turn off when the valve is opened (ie in the filling mode of the appliance).

In the filling mode of the appliance, the valve may be arranged to allow steam to flow from the liquid heating compartment into the receiving chamber. For example, residual steam may remain in the liquid heating compartment when the appliance is to be refilled with liquid after the user has boiled the liquid using the appliance. This residual steam may be allowed to flow from the liquid heating compartment through the valve into the receiving chamber when the mode of the appliance is changed from "heat" to "fill" (eg, by selectively opening the valve).

Some further features of the lid of the liquid heating appliance will now be described, with or without the presence of a plunger. In some embodiments, the lid includes a lift feature for gripping and lifting to remove the lid from the container. A lift feature can be positioned in the receiving chamber to indicate to the user that the lid can only be removed when the receiving chamber is empty (otherwise liquid may spill). This may be beneficial for cleaning purposes, for example, as it may allow the user to easily remove the lid and clean the receiving chamber and/or exposed liquid heating vessel. The lift feature may protrude from the surface of the cover, such as the surface of the receiving chamber. Preferably, the lift feature protrudes from the floor of the lid (eg, from the bottom of the receiving chamber).

The lift feature may be movable, such as a hinged handle. Preferably, however, the lift feature is static, such as a knob. Preferably, the lift feature is separate from and located away from the fill valve so as to facilitate the flow of liquid in the receiving chamber towards the fill valve. As mentioned above, the lift feature may be located in the center of the lid, while the fill valve is located off-center.

The appliance may include manual intervention means for interrupting the operation of the heater. The plunger may include manual intervention components. The valve closing member may include manual intervention components. The manual intervention member may be arranged to operate the lift mechanism to move the plunger to the raised position. The manual intervention member may be arranged to switch off the heater.

Description of drawings

Some preferred embodiments of the present application will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

1 shows a perspective view of a liquid heating appliance according to an embodiment of the present application;

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of the appliance shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3a shows an upper perspective view of the valve of the appliance shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3b shows a perspective view of the lower part of the valve of the appliance shown in Figure 1;

4 shows a cross-sectional side view of a liquid heating appliance according to another embodiment of the present application;

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a liquid heating appliance according to another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional side view of the appliance shown in FIG. 5 .

Detailed ways

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a liquid heating appliance 1 (hereinafter referred to as appliance 1 ) for heating liquids according to one embodiment of the present application. The appliance 1 comprises a container 2 comprising a lower part 2a and an upper part 2b, a lid 4 and a handle 6 for lifting the appliance 1 . The lid 4 is removably fitted in a hole defined at the upper end of the container 2 . The appliance 1 also comprises a spout 5 for dispensing liquid and a heater 3 arranged within the container 2 .

The lower part 2a of the container 2 is made of transparent glass. The upper part 2b of the container 2 is made of plastic. However, a decorative stainless steel wrap extends around the outer surface of the upper portion 2b.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of the appliance 1 of FIG. 1 . The lid 4 of the appliance 1 comprises a substantially circular funnel 8 comprising a funnel wall 10 and a funnel floor 12 . The funnel 8 is shaped to guide the liquid towards the centre of the appliance 1 . The funnel wall 10 is partially conical and then extends vertically downwards around the centre of the funnel 8 . Of course, the funnel 8 could take an alternative shape, for example the wall 10 continues in a conical shape to the funnel floor 12 without any vertical portion. In the center of the funnel 8 , the funnel floor 12 is inclined to direct the liquid towards the filling valve 16 arranged in the funnel floor 12 .

The funnel 8 of the lid 4, including the wall 10 and the bottom plate 12, defines a receiving chamber 14 for receiving the liquid. As can be seen in Figure 1, the top of the receiving chamber 14 is open (ie it is not covered by a lid), which means that the user can easily fill the receiving chamber 14 (eg with liquid from a faucet) without No manual manipulation or removal of any part of the appliance 1 is required.

The container 2 defines a liquid heating compartment 18 within the appliance 1 below the funnel 8 . The spout 5 of the appliance 1 is in fluid communication with the liquid heating compartment 18 , which means that liquid can be dispensed from the liquid heating compartment 18 through the spout 5 .

The heater 3 is arranged in or adjacent to the liquid heating compartment 18 to heat the liquid contained in the liquid heating compartment 18 . When the temperature of the liquid within the liquid heating compartment 18 is heated to the boiling point, the liquid evaporates into vapor.

The receiving chamber 14 includes a filling valve 16 arranged in the funnel floor 12 . The funnel floor 12 slopes downward towards the fill valve 16 to direct the liquid in the receiving chamber 14 towards the fill valve 16 . The fill valve 16 is configured to operate to allow liquid to flow from the receiving chamber 14 into the liquid heating compartment 18 in the fill mode of the liquid heating appliance, but to substantially prevent the flow of liquid into the liquid heating compartment 18 in the heating mode of the appliance The steam generated in the gas escapes into the receiving chamber 14 .

Figures 3a and 3b show an example of the filling valve 16 in more detail. In this example, the filling valve 16 is a check valve in the form of a slit valve.

The slit valve 16 includes an elastomer (eg, silicone) groove 20 arranged to receive liquid from the receiving chamber 14 . A slot 20 extends downwardly from the funnel floor 12 as shown in FIG. 2 . A narrow longitudinal slit 22 is provided along the bottom of the slot 20 . A secondary slit 23 shorter than the longitudinal slit 22 is also provided at the bottom of the groove 20 and bisects the longitudinal slit 22 vertically.

The operation of the check valve 16 will now be described. When the receiving chamber 14 is filled with liquid by the user, the liquid is generally directed towards the center of the appliance 1 through the funnel 8 and the funnel wall 10 of the receiving chamber 14 . The liquid then flows down the sloped floor 12 of the lid 4 to the check valve 16 . Thus, the groove 20 of the valve 16 begins to fill with liquid.

Due to the resiliency of the elastomeric (eg, silicone) material of the valve 16 , the sides of the slit 22 are biased together, normally sealing the liquid heating compartment 18 from the receiving chamber 14 . However, when the tank 20 is sufficiently filled with liquid, the weight of the liquid in the tank 20 forces the slit 22 in the bottom of the tank 20 to open, allowing the liquid to enter the liquid heating compartment 18 through the slit 22 . Liquid is allowed to flow through slot 22 until the weight of the liquid within slot 20 is low enough to bias the sides of slot 22 together again (eg, when slot 20 is substantially empty).

The liquid in the liquid heating compartment 18 may then be heated by the heater 3 (eg to boiling temperature). This generates steam within the liquid heating compartment 18 . Since the slit 22 is biased closed, steam will be prevented by the valve 16 from escaping into the receiving chamber 14 . Even if the user fills the receiving chamber 14 with enough liquid to cause the slit 22 to open, it should be understood that any vapor present within the liquid heating compartment 18 will be prevented from escaping into the receiving chamber by the flow of liquid into the liquid heating compartment 18 Room 14.

The slot 20 has a substantially U-shaped cross-section, which facilitates opening of the slit 22 when pressure is applied to the bottom of the slot 20 from above (ie, by the liquid within the receiving chamber 14), while preventing heating from below (ie, by the liquid). Slot 22 is opened when steam within compartment 18) applies pressure to the bottom of tank 20.

Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional side view of an appliance 301 according to another embodiment of the present application. The appliance 301 is substantially the same as the appliance 301 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , except that the lid 304 also includes a lift feature 309 that protrudes upwardly from the funnel floor 312 .

Lifting feature 309 can be grasped by a user of appliance 301 and lifted upward to facilitate removal of lid 304 from container 302 . The lift feature 309 is positioned in the center of the funnel floor 312 so that liquid in the receiving chamber 314 can flow around the sides of the lift feature 309 towards the fill valve 316 .

Although the filling valves 16, 316 shown in Figures 2, 3a and 3b and 4 are arranged towards the edge of the funnel floor 12, 312, ie off-centre, it should be understood that the filling valves 16, 316 may be arranged in the lids 4, 316 Anywhere of 304 that provides the desired controllable fluid communication between the receiving chambers 14 , 314 and the liquid heating compartments 18 , 318 . For example, the fill valve 16 , 316 may be located in the center of the funnel floor 12 , 312 . The lift feature 309 may also be placed in any suitable or desired location in the cover 304 .

However, the arrangement of the filling valve 16 , 316 towards the edge of the base plate 12 , 312 allows the plunger to extend through the centre of the appliance 1 , 301 . This is beneficial in many types of liquid heating appliances. For example, the plunger may carry an infusion device (eg, a container for holding tea leaves) to be lowered into the liquid heating compartment 18 , 318 . In liquid heating appliances involving induction heating, the plunger may carry a ferromagnetic heating plate, which may be lowered towards the bottom of the appliance 1 , 301 .

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a liquid heating appliance 101 (hereinafter referred to as appliance 101 ) for heating a liquid according to another embodiment of the present application. Appliance 101 is substantially the same as appliance 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , except that appliance 101 includes a plunger 158 that extends through lid 104 into liquid heating compartment 118 (when lid 104 is disposed on container 102 ) ). The ferromagnetic heating plate 156 is welded to the lower end of the plunger 158 . The plunger 158 is vertically movable to move the heating plate 156 from an induction heating position (where the heating plate 156 is adjacent the bottom of the appliance 101 as shown in FIGS. 5-6 ) and a non-heating position (moving the heating plate 156 away from the appliance) The position of the bottom of 101, not shown) is raised. The appliance 101 does not include a lift feature as shown in FIG. 4 , although the plunger 158 can be used to lift the lid 104 out of the container 102 .

When the heating plate 156 is lowered to the heating position and the bottom of the appliance 101 is placed on an energized induction hob (not shown), a magnetic field is induced across the ferromagnetic heating plate 156, causing the temperature of the heating plate 156 to increase . The liquid within the liquid heating compartment 118 is then heated by the heating plate 156 .

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional side view of the appliance 101 of FIG. 5 . The plunger 158 includes a button 140 at its upper end disposed within the receiving chamber 114 defined by the funnel 108 of the lid 104 , the reservoir wall 110 and the reservoir floor 112 . Button 140 allows the user to adjust the vertical position of plunger 158 and heating plate 156 . Plunger 158 is shown in a heated position in which heating plate 156 is lowered so that it is near the bottom of appliance 101 .

The appliance includes a lift mechanism 107 for lifting the plunger 158 and the heating plate 156 . The lift mechanism 107 includes a vapor sensing device 125 configured to release a biasing member (not shown) to move the plunger vertically upward relative to the lid 104 when the liquid within the liquid heating compartment 118 begins to boil. This moves the plunger 158 to the non-heating position because the heating plate 156 is moved out of the induction hob's magnetic field.

The fill valve 116 is placed towards the edge of the reservoir floor 112 of the lid 104 , allowing the plunger 158 and lift mechanism 107 to be centered on the appliance 101 .

When the user fills the receiving chamber 114 with liquid in the same manner as described above, the plunger 158 , the lift mechanism 107 and the button 140 are arranged so that the liquid can flow around these components towards the valve 116 . Plunger 158 extends through a hole in bottom plate 112 of lid 104 that is sealed to prevent vapor from escaping from liquid heating compartment 118 into receiving chamber 114 . Fill valve 116, such as the same slit valve 16 illustrated in Figures 3a and 3b, has an arcuate shape to accommodate a centrally located plunger 158.

Claims (12)

1. A liquid heating appliance, comprising: a container defining a liquid heating compartment, a lid disposed over the container to cover the liquid heating compartment, and a heater operable to heat liquid within the liquid heating compartment; characterized in that, wherein the lid comprises a funnel for directing liquid downwardly towards a funnel floor, and wherein the funnel floor comprises a check valve arranged to allow liquid to flow from the funnel into the liquid heating compartment chamber and substantially prevent vapor from entering the funnel from the liquid heating compartment. 2. The liquid heating appliance of claim 1, wherein the check valve comprises a slit valve. 3. The liquid heating appliance of claim 2, wherein the slit valve comprises a slot including one or more slits defined in a bottom of the slot. 4. The liquid heating appliance of claim 3, wherein the slot comprises a U-shaped, V-shaped or Y-shaped cross-section. 5. The liquid heating appliance of claim 1, wherein the check valve is disposed in the center of the funnel floor. 6. The liquid heating appliance of claim 1, further comprising a plunger arranged to extend through the center of the funnel floor into the liquid heating compartment, and wherein the check valve is arranged off-center in the funnel floor. 7. The liquid heating appliance of claim 6, wherein the heater comprises a ferromagnetic heating plate mounted at the lower end of the plunger. 8. The liquid heating appliance of claim 7, further comprising a thermally sensitive actuator and a lift mechanism arranged to automatically lift the ferromagnetic heating plate when triggered by the thermally sensitive actuator Move from lowered to raised position. 9. The liquid heating appliance of claim 1, wherein the lid is removable and includes a lift feature for gripping and lifting to remove the lid from the container. 10. The liquid heating appliance of claim 9, wherein the lift feature protrudes from the bottom plate of the cover; the lift feature is disposed in the center of the bottom plate of the lid; and The check valve is disposed off-center of the bottom plate of the cover. 11. The liquid heating appliance of claim 1, wherein the container includes a glass lower portion and a plastic upper portion, and wherein the lid is plastic. 12. The liquid heating appliance of claim 1, wherein the container includes a spout on one side and a handle on an opposite side.

Images